Guardians of Gotham
by NightwingGrayson
Summary: Sequel to "Birds and Bats". One day makes up for Batman's four week absence from League activities. Batman is tracked down by Wonder Woman, there is an explosion close to home, and Robin meets the rest of the Justice League.
1. A safe distance

It had been over four weeks since the Thanagarians invaded Earth, and no one was happy with Batman.

Wonder Woman (or Diana of Themyscira) paced up and down the brightly lit hallway with noticeable agitation. She was not in a good mood and it was obvious- her shoulders were tense and her face was drawn into a scowl.

'-and ignores the third call!' Diana was shouting.

Nearby (though standing a safe distance away) was Superman, who looked as though he wanted to be anywhere other than the place he was in. The place was, in fact, the makeshift headquarters of the Justice League- an abandoned company building (Superman had mentioned that it could have been an old Wayne Enterprises building) just outside of Metropolis. Batman hadn't said how he'd gotten the temporary HQ up and running and no one had really wanted to ask.

'I know, Diana,' the man said patiently, 'and I'm sure he'll come around when he realises how unreasonable he's being.'

Diana snorted, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. With his antisocial tendencies, asking for Batman to realise he was doing something wrong was like Hades asking the sun to rise in the north. Without a lot of help and persuasion, it was never going to happen. She knew it, and she **knew** Superman knew it, so why was he insisting on being difficult?

Superman sighed, apparently realising that Diana wasn't looking for advice; she was looking for some way to vent her feelings that didn't involve hitting anything (Wonder Woman had already worked her way through most of the trainingbots the previous morning). The Amazon thought she was well within her rights to be angry at Batman, but knew the situation was… complicated. Batman was being more and less like himself, and the irregularity was beginning to confuse the other heroes.

It was irritating because he hadn't done anything that was- well, **wrong**. Or at least, nothing **specifically** wrong. That did not mean that the other members of the Justice League weren't annoyed at him though.

The real problem lay in his behaviour. He had always been cold- a little distant from the others. But throughout the months the League had been in operation, he had seemingly warmed up to everyone. He was still hard on them sometimes, but they had grown used to his company. It wasn't hard to call him a friend now- Batman had become more than just an ally in the eyes of the other Leaguers, but recently, something had just been off.

They weren't sure if he was angry with them -or if he was really just very busy- but as of the end of the incident with Shayera and the other Thanagarians, they had suddenly seen a lot less of him.

They called and he didn't answer.

They tried to include him in things and he didn't make any effort.

He made up excuses, seemed more detached than he had been since they'd all first met, and Diana was getting frustrated.

At first it hadn't been all that noticeable. There had been a few odd comments; a few moments that made the heroes think they were getting the cold shoulder and so forth. Pretty soon, however, the whole thing had escalated out of control.

Flash had expressed worries that his and Superman's excursion through Batman's house might have had something to do with it- that Batman was a lot angrier about the incident than he had previously let on.

Superman had admitted that he wondered if Batman thought he was getting too close to the Justice League- that maybe this was Batman's way of getting space or trying to keep the others away from him.

It could also have been that Shayera's betrayal had caused him to wonder who else couldn't be trusted. With everything that had gone on during the month, there were too many options and too many unknowns.

Then there was the Robin problem.

Since learning about his son, "Robin", (or maybe adopted son, as Superman had mentioned) every member of the League had expressed their wanting to meet him. The only members who had actually seen the boy were Flash and Superman, and the fact that the kid had taken them out with toast and a candlestick holder meant that the others were **interested**.

Who was this kid? How long had Batman had him for? Why had he never been mentioned? Batman had always been secretive, but withholding that kind of information was just ridiculous.

Diana had been fairly adamant about it, seeing as Batman being a father showed a new layer of his personality- something he worked hard to hide.

Was he worried that being revealed as a father would ruin his reputation? She hadn't thought he would be so petty about things like that, but apparently Diana had been wrong.

With Batman's current behaviour, it didn't look like meeting the kid would happen any time soon. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman were currently as likely to meet Robin as they were when they hadn't known he'd existed.

Even Shayera wanted to meet the child, and despite her flipping allegiances during the invasion, the others (most of all John) were adamant that she meet him too.

Diana… wasn't sure how she felt towards Shayera. On the one hand, Hawkgirl had proven herself loyal to the League and fought against her own people to save Earth. On the other hand, she had lied to them all, betrayed them to the invaders and shaken their faith in each other. Hawkgirl had taken a leave of absence since then, but she made regular contact with the other members and had the full support of Green Lantern.

Scowling as her thoughts swirled around her head, Diana folded her arms. 'What are we supposed to do, Superman? He's being strange enough already, and if we try to confront him about it, he may disappear altogether!'

So maybe she wasn't just angry at Batman- maybe she was more than a little concerned about him too. Superman put a hand on her shoulder, and Diana sighed, giving him a little smile.

'If he won't come to us then we'll go to him,' said Superman. 'If we have to go to Gotham to stop him from ignoring us, then so be it.'

Diana sighed. 'Hera, help us,' she said softly, rubbing her temples and trying to ease her headache. 'Superman, one does not simply walk into Gotham.' He laughed and Diana gave him a confused and annoyed look. 'What?'

He just shook his head, smiling.

BWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBW

It was about two in the morning and in the late hours of patrol when Bruce's Justice League communicator went off.

'Yes?' he asked in a bored tone. The hour of morning ruled out Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. That left only Superman and Wonder Wo-

Wonder Woman.

Why hadn't he left the comm-link behind?

'Batman,' she said. Her voice seemed loud, but that was probably just because everything around Bruce was so quiet.

High above the city streets, Batman was a solitary, imposing figure on the landscape. From his post, Batman could see the bright lights below- a perfect bird's eye view, or maybe _bat's _eye view. His cape rustled every now and then as a light breeze brushed it.

It was getting quiet, and most of the action of the evening was over. Robin had been sent to patrol the third route (one Bruce had picked out- no rogues hung around those spots, so the people there were ones Robin was allowed to deal with) and should have been arriving at the specified point soon.

The sound of a muffled car horn below stirred Bruce, who jumped from where he had been perched and entered open air. His hand closed around his grapple gun, which he immediately fired. Falling could be a great feeling, but Bruce didn't indulge himself.

'Princess,' his voice was much quieter than hers had been. He dropped onto the roof of a building. Looking for the source of the sound, Bruce lent over the edge. Down below, there were several cars waiting for the light to change- nothing to be concerned about. Batman took a few steps back. 'Anything I can help you with?'

'Oh, so you're answering me now?'

He winced slightly at the tone. _I probably deserve that. _'Excuse me?' he growled. Bruce could have apologised, but Batman certainly couldn't.

'You know what I mean!' she snapped, and Batman sighed, leaning against the wall. He had the sudden urge to hang up on her, but realised she was probably in a bad enough mood already.

Batman knew he had been withdrawn from League activities for the last few weeks, but since his revelation after the invasion, Batman decided he had good enough reason. He had realised that the members of the Justice League weren't just allies any more. With every fight they had drawn closer together, and he knew he was starting to consider the others as friends.

It was a worrying thought for Bruce because it had happened without him noticing, and because despite his often cold disposition with the others, they had managed to push (or maybe slip) past his defences.

'I'm busy,' he replied. Bruce could almost **hear **her rolling her eyes.

'Of course,' Diana said irritably. 'So for four weeks you've been too busy to even talk to us, but you can spare five minutes to add **gas masks** to the schematics of the new Watchtower?'

'Two minutes,' he said softly.

_'I don't care how long it took!' _she all but hissed. It reminded him of Catwoman, but there was no way he was going to tell her that. 'Now,' her tone was deceptively reasonable, 'you're going to come in tomorrow morning, at **exactly **eight o'clock and sit through a meeting and prove you are still alive. If you don't -I swear to **Hera**- I will hunt you down.' There was a pause, and Batman said nothing. 'Have a nice night.'

He should have agreed to the meeting, but something rebellious in him refused. She could not tell him what to do, and if she was going to take that kind of approach, then the game had begun.

_Hunt me down? Let her try. _

'All clear on the east.' Batman very nearly jumped in surprise, but managed to steel himself. There were only a handful of people who could sneak up on Batman like that, and he was proud to say that he had taught the one who just had. Bruce turned and saw a cheerful looking Robin playing with his grapple. 'A couple of drug dealers and one robber,' he reported. 'They were all picked up by the police along with the evidence. Quiet night, isn't it?'

Batman slowly inclined his head. It was a quiet night, but he had the feeling the morning was going to be very noisy.


	2. Bat hunting

At three minutes to eight Diana had started pacing.

At three minutes **past** eight, Diana had begun to mutter under her breath.

Three minutes after that, she kicked a hole into the table she had been leaning against and stalked out of the conference room.

She had warned Batman, and she had given him a chance to come back of his own accord, but he had refused. Diana felt a twisted sort of smile form on her face. It was a look that signalled that the woman was going to see her promise through.

_I told him I would hunt him down, _she thought, heading towards the main computer. _He has brought about his own fate._

Diana briefly considered calling Superman while she went through the communication settings, but thought better of it. Something told Diana he was not going to aid her. Despite their conversation the night before, Diana doubted Superman would approve of her hunting Batman down during the **day** (particularly when he could be his alter ego), and if he wasn't helping her, he might try to stop her.

"Try" being the operative word- he wouldn't actually be able to, but Diana didn't think injuring two friends in one day was going to make anyone happy.

'Transmitters, access codes, signal strength,' listed Diana, in a voice lower than a murmur as she scrolled through the list. Her eyes lit up with victorious light and she laughed as she found a file labelled "locations". 'Don't make it too easy for me, Batman,' she said, selecting the location for the comm-link called "B". Wonder Woman had been expecting some sort of security, and she was surprised Batman hadn't set up any for the comm-link locators. Maybe she'd remind him when she saw him in Gotham.

Diana smirked and set her earpiece up like the tracking technology (was it a JPS?) civilians used in their cars, linking it to the signal coming off of Batman.

She was ready to leave a few minutes later, after changing into civilian clothes and tying her hair back. Heading towards the main doors, Diana checked the signal one last time before she started her course to Gotham.

It wasn't long before she entered the city's crowded streets.

Thankfully, no one had seen her fly in, so she wasn't in any immediate danger of being recognised.

She was led into the heart of the city, and by the time the robotic voice directing her announced that "B" was located inside the building "a hundred metres ahead", Diana was thoroughly sick of the voice. It had led her down two dead ends, into a shoe store, told her to go into a condemned building, and asked her to wait for traffic when she stopped in front of a newspaper stand.

Her blue eyes widened when she read the sign on the building: Wayne Enterprises. What, in Hera's name, was Batman doing in there?

Her shoulders straightened as she pushed open the double doors and stalked inside. A lingering security guard jumped as she emerged, and went back to work he should have already been doing. Diana rolled her eyes before jumping backwards. No less than twenty people came shooting pass her, all shouting someone about a deadline.

As more people scurried past her, Diana began to feel overwhelmed.

Somehow, she managed to get dragged into another crowd and ended up on one of the top floors of the building. Her head was spinning, and the robotic voice kept telling her that "B" was within a seventy metre radius, but she didn't know which way to go or whether she was on the right floor or not.

'Looks like heaven's missing an angel.'

_Of all the times, _Diana thought angrily, spinning around and coming face to face with- _Bruce Wayne?_

There he was (suit and all) giving her a wide smile that she hastily returned. 'Mr Wayne,' she said, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. 'it's nice to see you again.'

'So you do remember me,' he said, and Diana found herself recalling their last encounter. It had shortly before the incident with Princess Audrey and Vandal Savage. Diana almost laughed when she remembered thinking that Batman could have been Bruce Wayne- after all, she'd found out a few days later that Bruce had been in a UN conference (in a different part of the world) giving donations while she and Batman had been off fighting. 'And please, call me Bruce.' Diana's smile got a little wider. 'Is there something I can help you with?'

'I-what?' The question caught her off guard, and his eyes filled with mischief.

'Well it's not every day Wayne Enterprises gets visited by a heroine like yourself,' he said, smile broadening. Diana liked that he used "heroine" instead of just "hero". 'And unless you've come to finish that dance of ours…'

Diana laughed, 'I'm not sure this is the right place.'

'It could be,' said Bruce, grinning. Someone nearby cleared their throat, and Diana's eyes flicked to the person that had just appeared behind Bruce Wayne. He was dressed almost identically to Bruce, but his suit was completed with a blue tie instead of a red one. His hair was dark and slicked back, and what shocked Diana the most was that he was a child. 'Ah, Richard!' Bruce said brightly, slinging an arm around the boy's shoulders. 'How rude of me- this is my ward Richard Grayson.'

Shaking the hand he offered her, Diana reminded herself that she'd know about the boy. She'd heard (along with the rest of the world) about Bruce Wayne adopting an orphan some time ago, and stored away the knowledge for later- which was apparently now.

'It's nice to meet you,' the child said, giving her a smile that she quickly recognised. She'd seen it on Bruce's face a few seconds ago.

'Hello,' she offered, unsure of what to say.

'So, what brings you to Gotham?' Richard asked cheerfully.

'Actually, I was looking for a friend of mine,' she said quickly. 'I said I would meet him here.'

An odd expression flashed over Bruce's face, and then he was looking mischievous again. 'I don't remember you telling me that,' he said, and Diana grinned back at him.

While it was good to see him again, Diana remembered she was on a mission. She quickly drew a hand up to her ear and murmured, 'Yes?' Bruce cocked an eyebrow, but she pretended not to notice, and "listened" for the "reply". 'I'll be there as soon as I can.'

Bruce gave her a playful smile, 'I suppose you'll be off then,' he said, looking just a little disappointed.

'I'm sorry, something's come up.' She hoped he didn't take it personally- she had a promise to keep and a score to settle.

'Never mind,' he said, 'I'm sure I'll hear about it on tonight's news.' His hand landed back on Richard's shoulder.

'Bye,' Richard called, giving a little wave as he was steered away.

Diana was halfway towards the stairs when she heard Bruce call: 'You should visit more often.'

There was a little smile on her lips as she saw the two disappear behind a door.

'"B" is located exactly forty metres away,' the voice reported. That snapped Diana straight out of her thoughts and had her flying (not literally- that would be too suspicious) around a corner. She scanned members of the crowd in front of her, looking for anyone that could fit Batman's build.

'He's here someone,' she said softly, ignoring the looks she was receiving.

'Twenty metres away.' Her eyes widened, and she whipped around- someone holding an enormous stack of papers jumped at the sudden movement, giving Diana a scared look as they hurried around the corner. '"B" is ten metres from your position.'

Diana backed up, and her back brushed the wall. She was wedged between the edge of a door frame and a large pot plant. 'Where are you?' she growled, and managed to bang her elbow on a door handle as she folded her arms.

'One metre away.'

_One metre? _Diana frowned. There was no one in front of her that close, and unless he was behind the pot plant-

There was a creak from the door hinge, and then someone had grabbed a hold of Diana's arm and pulled her inside a dark room. The door snapped shut and her arm was released.

'Diana,' a voice said, and she eased out of her fighting stance. It was hard to see, but Diana made out a shadow in the corner. 'What are you doing in Gotham?' _Must he be so dramatic? _

'You missed the meeting.'

'I had good reasons,' he said, and Diana got the feeling that he'd moved. 'That still doesn't explain why you're here.'

'I was visiting a friend,' she said. It wasn't that far off actually- when she'd said it to Bruce she'd meant Batman, but now she could say it had been Bruce all along.

'On your way to track my comm-link?' he growled, and Diana's eyebrows shot into her hairline.

'How did- oh, never mind!' Diana snapped, he was Batman, after all. 'You've been avoiding us! All of us and- _d__on't you dare cut me off!' _she snarled, when he made a noise that could have been a protest. Still, knowing him it might not have been anything. 'We've barely seen you, you haven't been to the headquarters for weeks and we're all getting worried.'

'I'm touched,' he said dryly. 'Did Superman put you up to this?'

'No,' she snarled, 'and what could be so important that you can't socialise with the League?'

'I'm not a social person,' said Batman flatly, as if he even needed to remind her, 'and I'm only a part-timer. The rest of the League can suck it up and deal with the fact that I have other things that need doing.'

'Other things? Like what? Brooding alone in the Batcave?!' Diana barked, wishing the room wasn't pitch black so she could look right at his face. The Amazon had the feeling that Batman wasn't dressed in his cape and cowl (she would have seen the pointy ears if he was). 'At least try to make up a good story! I don't know why you're avoiding us, but it needs to stop.'

'I'm not avoiding any-'

'Don't deny it,' she snapped. 'I'm sure you have your **reasons**, but frankly-'

'Wonder Woman,' the sound of Superman's voice in her comm-link stopped her rant short, 'there's an army convoy being targeted as we speak- we need you to come in.'

'On my way,' she said firmly, telling herself that she could still sound dignified in a janitor's closet. She heard the location in her ear before she shut the link. 'Diana out.' She turned back to the place she thought Batman was standing. 'Are you coming or not?' There was silence and Diana let it stretch on as she waited.

'Do I have any choice?' Batman rumbled, and Diana smiled when she noticed Batman's voice had change to a tone she was more familiar with than the dismissive tone he'd been using.

'Better,' she said appraisingly, and then frowned. 'Do you know any fast ways to get to Main North Highway?' It was a weird name when she thought of it- how many north highways could there be?

'The Batwing can get us there,' Batman said. Diana felt a little smile tug her lips up. The Batwing ranked pretty highly on her list of best transportation devices. There was a click, and the floor started moving. Diana yelped and pushed herself into the air. Her head brushed the ceiling. A small amount of light seeped into the room, enough to see the outlines of an opening in the floor.

'What is that?' Diana demanded. Batman made a noise that might have been a chuckle. Apparently this was all very normal for him, but Diana wasn't used to secret tunnels popping up in everyday places (not yet, at least).

'Our way out,' he said. 'You can fly down.'

Squinting in the dark, she saw it was some sort of enlarged air vent- the path was a straight drop down to who-even-knows-what, and Diana couldn't see how far it was to the bottom. She glared at the shadow that was Batman. 'You first.'

She thought he might have shrugged, but couldn't be sure. 'I need to call someon-'

'Down,' she bit out, '**now**.'

He sighed. Batman mumbled something at included the words "automatic close" and then there was the sound of his grapple gun firing. Diana tried to get a look at his head as he went down, but it was still too dark for her to anything other than a blur.

An inner battle raged for a moment as Diana decided whether it was a good idea to go head first or feet first, and she could have sworn Batman called for her to hurry up. Her fists clenched, her eyes narrowed, and Diana let gravity take her down.


	3. False victory

Bruce pulled on his cowl as quickly as he could.

All things considered, he'd done well to cope with the situation. Bruce had had about two minutes warning before Diana's arrival in Wayne Enterprises, seeing as his comm-link started beeping. He'd set up his own little tracking system on the League (in case they were stupid enough to come to Gotham, or if they were looking for him) that alerted him whenever they got within a certain distance.

He'd used that time to give the comm-link to Richard (who hid it in Bruce's office), then do a walk-around and check the security cameras. Upon seeing her enter the lobby, Bruce had made his way down to meet her.

Seeing as they'd met once before in civilian clothes, Bruce knew it Diana wouldn't be suspicious if he recognised her. In fact, Bruce had made a point to make it seem like **she** shouldn't have remembered **him**. After all, with everything that went on afterwards, it would seem odd if their dance stuck out as one of the most prominent events of the incident.

He was a little put out that she had her suspicions afterwards, but managed to make it to a UN conference on a different side of the world (and more importantly, in a different time-zone). Diana hadn't ever made that connection, so his secret identity was still very much safe. After all, a normal human couldn't possibly in two places at once...

After steering Richard towards his office, Bruce had grabbed his comm-link. He didn't have time to change during the trip through the air vents from his office, but thankfully the janitor closest he dropped into was pitch black, and Diana hadn't been able to see his face when he dragged her inside.

There was a gentle thump as Diana landed down beside him. Bruce did a quick mental check of his gear before turning around to face her.

He could see the outline of her face in the dim blue lighting- she was pulling her hair out of her ponytail. The lights down the path were similar to that of an airport runway- little lines of blue shining through the darkness.

'How many of these places do you have?' she asked, as they began down the path.

'Enough,' he said truthfully, and then winced slightly. He was sure Diana was giving him a withering look.

'Must you give such vague answers?' she demanded.

'Maybe,' he said, and she smacked him in the shoulder. Bruce hid a smile. 'What do we know about the situation on Main North?'

'There's an army convoy being targeted,' Wonder Woman said. 'Superman didn't mention anything else.'

_And Diana calls me vague, _Batman thought, rolling his eyes. Superman didn't say who they were going to fight, or what they were trying to protect? Bruce frowned and began to list any of his or Diana's rogues that would be interested in something the army had, and then sighed- there weren't many that wouldn't be... Batman didn't like flying in blind, and with the lack of information, Superman had just made sure that he would be.

'We'd better pick up the pace,' Batman said, finally. Diana nodded, and Bruce found himself running by her side as she flew above him. Bruce nearly asked her to just run, because her hair was swinging in and out of his vision and getting distracting, but thought better of it. Instead, he surfed the frequencies on his comm-link until he found a news station.

'-and has opened fire on the crowd,' Bruce's eyes widened, and he pushed himself to go faster. 'Superman is pulling civilians to safety, while Martian Manhunter appears to be engaging one of the two criminals.'

The Batwing was ready for the two heroes when they emerged in the middle of a Gotham park. Diana must have seen the look on Batman's face, because she climbed in without a word.

'Is it bad?' she asked after a moment.

Batman hit autopilot so he could stock up on batarangs. 'When isn't it?' he growled, tucking one with an extremely sharp edge into his boot. He then sighed, turning to face her. 'Four civilians are in critical condition.'

Her hand tightened into a fist.

BWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBW

It was chaos when they reached the end of Main North Highway.

Chunks of road that had been blown away lay strewn across the ground, and crumpled cars were scattered in every direction. Bruce spotted an army tank as the Batwing shot around, and he quickly circled back.

J'ohn was flying people away from the area, and green light from nearby confirmed GL was present. A red streak known as the Flash was zipping around below, exchanging blows whenever the opportunity arose.

'Batman to Superman,' Bruce said clearly. 'Wonder Woman and I are on scene- what's going on?'

'We've got Metallo, Cheetah and Clayface still active,' Superman said. Batman noticed his voice was strained. 'I could use a hand down here.'

'Did you hear that?' he called to Diana. She nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder for a second, before he opened the top of the roof and she jumped from the Batwing.

Batman was reminded of how much he hated it when rogues banded together, but forced it out of his mind as he set his plane down. He had several electrified batarangs ready when he jumped from the aircraft, and made a beeline for Clayface, Green Lantern and a group of stranded officers. GL was firing beams at him, but Clayface simply shifted out of the way.

'I've got this,' Batman said, marching past him. GL looked shocked for a second and then his face broke into a smile. Clayface, on the other hand, stiffened.

'Well, well, look who's finally here,' Clayface rumbled, and Batman stayed very still. His cape moved forwards, hiding his hands. 'Was wonderin' when you'd show.'

'Shouldn't you be in Arkham?' Batman asked, positioning himself away from the officers. If Clayface threw something at him (which he would) Bruce didn't want it landing on them. Even with John around to shield them, he didn't want to risk it.

'Friend o' mine called a favour,' he said, and Batman saw a car behind him shift ever so slightly. 'He helps me out, and I do a job for him- after I crush you!'

Batman threw himself to the side as a police cruiser came flying towards him. After all their fights, Clayface's moves were getting easier to predict. John had flung a shield up in front of the officers, protecting them from debris as the car landed.

Batman rolled out of the way as Clayface swung a scythe-shaped hand, and pelted three of the four batarangs towards the villain. Clayface split himself down the middle, and one went sailing past harmlessly. The second batarang, he knocked out of the air. The third, however, struck him in the chest. Clayface's form stiffened, and then practically liquefied as the electricity raced over him and tightened its coils.

Bruce waited for a few seconds, lowered in his fighting stance, and confirmed that Clayface was down.

A blue and red blur shot past him, and Batman's keen eyes quickly scanned the scene. Wonder Woman was exchanging hits with Metallo, while Superman chased after Cheetah. _They must have changed sparring partners, _Bruce thought. Following their movements, Bruce tracked the pattern of the chase.

'Superman,' Batman called, hand already at his utility belt, 'fall back!'

The Kryptonian shot away from Cheetah, who had the time to look confused before Batman's stun pelts exploded in front of her. Bright light flared, and she cried out in shock. Still dazed, she never saw the punch coming from Superman.

Cheetah dropped like a stone, and Flash caught, then tied up her unconscious form as he came past.

'It's good to have you back!' Superman called, flying over to help Wonder Woman secure Metallo. Batman sighed- they were acting like he'd been gone for a few years instead of a few weeks.

He made his way over slowly to the rest of the Justice League, checking for any more signs of activity. Several rogues were being rounded up –Batman spied a few that should have still been locked away- before joining the others.

'Do we know what they were after?' J'ohn was asking.

Superman shook his head. 'That's the funny thing,' he said, eyes on the officers leading the villains away. 'There was nothing valuable being transported.'

'Or nothing distinctly valuable,' Batman warned. 'It could have been a toxin or records of some kind. We'll need to see what was being transferred.'

'I've already talked with one of the lieutenants,' insisted Superman. 'He said they weren't transporting cargo, just people.'

'Maybe someone hired them,' Diana nodded her head towards the rounded up rouges, 'to assassinate someone.'

'All of them?' Batman asked doubtfully.

There were too many of them for one person's life, and unless the hirer thought their target was extremely dangerous, they wouldn't have bothered. It seemed unlikely. There was also the fact that the army squad wasn't one that would have crossed paths with super villains, so a group out for revenge was implausible. It could have been a "no one is safe" message, but that would be stupid. They knew it would attract the attention of the Justice-?

Batman's eyes widened.

'What?' Flash asked, looking at him curiously.

'We've been set up,' he snarled. _I should have realised earlier, _he thought angrily. 'They were sent to lure us away.'

'From what?' GL asked, and Batman glowered at him.

'From whatever it is their contact wants,' said Batman, folding his arms. He thought for a long minute- would any of the hired villains know what was going on? He turned to J'ohn, who seemed to have heard the tenor of his thoughts.

'Would you like me to read their minds?' he asked, and Batman gave a firm nod. Even the tiniest detail could be of use. His eyes glowed, and for a moment, everything seemed to go quiet. A few seconds later, J'ohn blinked, and the light died down.

'Well?'

'I could not find out who they were working for,' J'ohn said. 'Someone has tampered with their minds.' Batman scowled- they (whoever **they **were) had clearly been expecting some form of contact with the League.

'Ah- guys?'

'Not now, Flash,' Batman said, ignoring his call from a nearby police car.

'So, where do we think they'll be?'

'Guys?' Flash said again. Batman ignored him.

'Nowhere around here,' GL said, 'not if they were supposed to-'

'**Guys**!'

'What?' Batman snapped, whipping around.

Flash huffed, 'If any of you could have bothered to listen to me, I would have told you where our guy is.' Batman felt an eyebrow rise, and the others fell silent. 'It just came through the radio- there's been an explosion at Wayne Enterprises.'

Batman felt his face tighten, and nearby Diana winced.


	4. Wayne Enterprises

Richard Grayson was sitting on the roof of a skyscraper, arms folded against his chest.

The last he'd seen of his mentor (and or father) Bruce, was when he'd grabbed his comm-link from his desk draw and crawled up an air vent.

That had been **two hours ago**, and Dick hadn't heard anything from him since. _He's always telling me to call whenever I go anywhere, and here he is, leaving me alone at Wayne Enterprises without a word, _Dick thought huffily.

He'd waited in Bruce's office for half an hour, before giving up. Dick had his own comm-link in, and had gone so far as to check that it was actually working (which, as he had suspected, it was). Knowing better than to call Bruce while he was with the League, Richard had simply given up and decided to go patrolling.

Making good use of the air vents (seeing as the security guard at the door would see him leave and ask where Bruce was), Dick had navigated his way out of Wayne Enterprises, and changed into Robin before he disappeared up on the skyline. He made sure no one noticed him as he did (even though part of him wanted to, to spite Bruce) and watched for crime for a good hour or so, before he gave that up to.

Robin glanced down at the street below hopefully, but there was still nothing going on.

'I should have called Alfred,' he told himself , then sighed. Bruce had made it pretty clear that if he wanted Dick to get picked up, he would call Alfred. That meant Richard had to stay in the city until either Alfred or Bruce came looking for him.

Sighing, Robin leant forwards, leaning his arms on his knees and his head on his arms. He could see most of the city from his little spot- Wayne Enterprises was almost directly in front of him, surrounded by a bunch of smaller buildings. There was the sound of a helicopter nearby, and Richard looked up interested. It sounded close. _Weird, _he thought, standing up and scanning the sky. Robin eyes narrowed and he frowned- he couldn't see it anywhere.

Bruce had taught him to hear where things were without seeing them. Robin closed his eyes, listening carefully as he turned his head. The sound of the blades slicing the air echoed around in his ears, along with the sound of cars down below. The helicopter wasn't anywhere behind him, so it had to be straight ahea-

Robin's eyes shot open in time to see the explosion.

Glass shot from the windows of Wayne Enterprises, blinding light radiated outwards, and a sound Robin linked with thunder echoed. The entire building trembled, and Dick could have sworn the one he was on did too. He could hear the sound of screams below, and a few more bangs as shocked drivers veered off course and into each other.

Robin looked on in horror for an instant, before instinct kicked in and he grabbed his grapple gun. He threw himself away from the building, and towards Wayne Enterprises, firing the line at the closest sky scraper. Smoke billowed into the sky.

_What's going on?_

BWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBW

Batman was furious.

Someone had attacked his city, his building and -for all he knew- his son.

J'ohn and Diana were shifting uncomfortably in the backseat. Bruce made sure to think quietly so J'ohn wouldn't pick up on anything, but he also put up a little wall for himself in case Martian Manhunter accidently brushed his subconscious.

He was out of his mind with worry- he'd left Richard behind for nearly three hours now, and he couldn't reach him on his comm-link. If Richard was going to wait anywhere, it would be in Bruce's office, and if Wayne Enterprises was being attacked, that could mean Bruce himself was the target. What better way to get rid of him, or send a threat, than by blowing up his office?

There were two options that meant Bruce could relax- the first being that Alfred had picked Richard up, and the second was that Robin had accidently set off something in his utility belt and caused a minor explosion. Other than the awkward questions, he would be fine. A little voice reminded Bruce that the explosion might have had nothing to do with the villains, but the detective in him knew better.

'How far are we?' Diana asked softly.

'Two minutes, forty three seconds,' said Batman, hands locked on the controls. Superman, GL and Flash had gone ahead, but at the speed he was going, Batman thought he might catch them.

'I'm sorry, Batman,' said Diana finally, leaning forwards in her seat. 'If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have left Gotham.'

'Diana,' he murmured, 'whoever blew up that building will be the one apologizing.' Bruce's masked eyes narrowed. _And whoever planned this will be eating through a straw. _He locked eyes with her in the reflection of the window.'You couldn't have known what was going to happen.'

A little smile had settled on her face as she eased back down, but she still looked troubled. J'ohn placed a hand on her shoulder.

The rest of the flight was spent in silence, and even as they landed on a roof nearby, no one said a word.

There was panic down below- people were streaming out of the building and Bruce could see only one police car and two ambulances. Judging by the sirens, more were on their way. He was surprised they had managed to get through- abandoned cars blocked the way up the street.

J'ohn was floating towards them when he suddenly groaned and dropped from his place in the sky before Batman could tell what was happening. Diana dove after Martian Manhunter, appearing a second later with him over her shoulder.

'J'ohn?' Diana asked, and Bruce helped her ease him onto the ground. 'Are you alright?'

'Forgive me,' he said, eyes opening; he put a hand to his temple. 'I was overwhelmed by the minds below us. There is so much panic and confusion.'

'Are you alright to go inside?' she asked, and J'ohn nodded.

'It will pass, but I do not think it would be wise of me to use my telepathy.'

Diana helped him back to his feet. Batman eyed the damage to the building and his masked eyes turned to slits- someone was going to have to pay for that, and it was probably going to be him. Still, the massive hole in the side of Wayne Enterprises made a good opening for him, and he swung into the building with ease on his grapple line.

He found himself standing in what was -or had been- a storage room for the old paper files. Glass the same texture as sand glinted on the floor, and crunched under his boots. Paper was everywhere, and the metal cabinets had either blown apart or melted onto the floor from the heat of the explosion. Pieces of metal were buried in the opposite wall.

There was a gust of wind from behind as Superman, Flash and GL came shooting into the building.

'Sorry we're late,' GL said. 'We were trying to move some of the cars down there so people could get through.'

'And we picked up a friend,' Flash said happily.

Bruce frowned, turning around. At least he had the sense to do it slowly- Diana's head span almost the whole way around the second Flash said "friend".

Shayera was standing next to GL, looking a little uncomfortable. 'I was in the area,' she said. 'Have you got room for one more?'

'Always,' Superman said.

Bruce noticed Diana looking everywhere but the space Shayera was occupying. _I have a job to do, _Bruce reminded himself, and started down the hallway.

As they searched through the level, Bruce felt relief swallow a good portion of his anger. No one could find any unconscious, injured or trapped workers- it seemed all employees had cleared out after the blast. If Dick had been in his office, he would have been safe from the explosion.

It was when they neared the centre of the level that things started to look suspicious. Anything that was remotely technological had been destroyed, or completely stripped away. Bruce began to comprise a list of any known tech-thieves, employees that might have a grudge, competitors of Wayne Enterprises and anyone else who might use his company's technology for destructive purposes.

However, Bruce's thoughts ended rather abruptly when he and the others made it into the corridor.

There were two things so obviously wrong with the scene in front of him. First, the glass door at the end of the hallway was closed- something Bruce had never seen in all his years at the company. The people working in the office blocks were constantly moving, and taking time to open and close doors was time wasted. As such, it was always held open by a little fixture at the top of the doorframe. If the door was closed, it would have had to have been **forced **closed. The second -and most obvious sign- was the tendrils of smoke creeping down the hall, from the bottom of the door. Bruce should have been able to see through the door, but all he could see was grey.

'I think we've found their escape route,' Diana whispered. Batman looked at her and nodded. It was a well-thought-out plan- they would be immersed in smoke before entering the room, and it could make them easy targets.

'Do we think they'll still be in there?' GL asked.

'Quiet down,' Flash hissed back.

'He has a point,' J'ohn said, stopping any reply from Shayera before it came. 'We do not want to alert them to our presence.'

'I'll get rid of the smoke,' Superman said, gesturing at the door.

Batman shook his head, 'Inhale it and there's a chance you'll pass out. If you blow it away aircraft coming to assist won't be able to see.'

Superman shrugged. He frowned at the open door, panned his head around, and then gave Batman an annoyed look. 'Is every building in Gotham lead lined?'

'You tell me,' Batman said, folding his arms. 'I'm not the one who can see through walls.'

'Neither am I right now,' Superman said, looking torn between frustration and amusement. 'I'll go first- it won't matter if they shoot me.'

The others nodded in agreement. Batman was about to debate when he spied an abandoned shoe at the end of the hallway and frowned. _That's not the sort of shoe my workers wear, _Bruce thought, eyeing it off. He took another look at the smoke, and the pieces fell in place.

Bruce felt a smile form before he could help it, but Batman quickly flattened it. 'Go ahead,' he growled, and was glad he managed to keep any lingering amusement out of his voice.

He fell back, letting a few of the others pass him and they were too caught up to notice. Diana was at his side, and Batman made sure he kept his face clear of emotion. Diana gave him a look, and he smirked a bit.

'What?' she murmured, obviously confused by his change in mood. He shook his head and held up a hand. Diana looked at him questioningly, but she stopped walking.

_One… _he signed at her, motioning at the front of the group. Superman opened the door a little too fast and it hit the wall with a bang.

_Two… _Diana's gaze flicked between him and Superman. She had obviously grasped the fact that Batman knew something the others did not.

There was a second of silence. Flash pulled a joking face at Superman, telling him he should have been quieter. GL was holding his ring up, and Shayera's mace was ready by her side.

_Three…_Bruce waited for a second, and Diana gave him another look.

There was a yelp from the front, and Batman caught Diana's arm before she could start forward.

The sound of a hard object making impact echoed towards them, and someone –Bruce thought it might have been Superman- slammed into the ground in front of him. Batman chuckled, letting Diana go. Wonder Woman looked at him like he'd gone mad.

'Where'd they go?' Flash shouted.

'There!' GL boomed. 'Under the desk!'

Sparks of electricity lit up the corner, followed quickly by an: "oof!", and a few more bangs. Batman stalked forwards- he wasn't nearly as handicapped by the smoke as his allies (it was something he used frequently in his own fights, after all). Diana followed him through the smoke, still looking confused. Halfway into the room, he spied John, who was pushing an office chair off of himself. Flash was stirring up the smoke as he ran.

Bruce kept close to the wall, and it wasn't long before he came across a group of unconscious men- they had been hauled up against the wall, though a few were piled on top of each other. He scanned the room for a small silhouette, when he remembered about the fans on the roof. Sure enough, the one in the middle of the room was being occupied.

'Enough, Robin,' Batman said, making his voice loud enough to be heard over the confusion. Diana's head snapped towards him, and Batman pretended not to notice. Bruce knew Richard had heard him, but no reply came. 'Robin, if you don't get off of the fan, I'll turn it on.'

There was a muffled thump, as a dark shape dropped from the roof. 'Batman?'


	5. Robin

'Obviously,' Bruce said, and frowned when Dick's shadowy outline was swallowed by smoke. _Why did he mov-?_

'Prove it.'

Bruce felt a stab of pride for his protégé as he toyed with a few responses. Robin had clearly heeded his warnings about situations when he couldn't see someone- hearing a person's voice didn't automatically make it them. 'Zitka,' Batman said finally. Only he and Richard would know the significance of the name.

'Did you say "Robin"?' Flash asked, tone changing instantly. 'Mini-Bat?!' he shouted hopefully.

'The kid's here?' Shayera said, and Bruce decided she hadn't made the link between Robin and the shadowy figure who had been pelting things at her a few seconds before… Maybe it was better off that way.

Smoke stirred next to him, and Batman braced himself ever so slightly. In the next second, Robin had sprung off of the floor and landed on his back, arms wrapping around his neck as he gave him a backwards hug. Bruce almost laughed, but managed to quench it. 'Hello,' Bruce said, making his voice a little gentler than normal. Little fingers pinched a sensitive spot on his neck. It didn't really hurt, but Bruce got the message. Richard may have been happy to see him, but he was still annoyed.

'You left me,' Dick said indignantly, tightening his hold on Bruce. 'You didn't even call!'

'I'm sorry, kiddo,' Bruce murmured, pulling a hand up behind him so he could ruffle Robin's already messy hair. 'I got held up with everything that was going on.'

'You didn't even call Alfred,' said Richard huffily, but his tone was more playful this time.

'Can someone **please **get rid of this smoke?!' Flash called exasperatedly. 'Supes?'

'It's alright to inhale,' Batman called. There was the sound of a massive breath being taken, and Bruce quickly grounded himself again. The smoke eddied and then shot away. He didn't move, but Bruce felt himself (and his cape) being pulled towards Superman.

As the smoke cover cleared, Batman found he could very clearly see his surroundings. A few metres away, John was pulling a shield back, and Flash was skidding to a stop. Shayera was trying to pull her mace out of a crater she'd made in a desk. Superman coughed in the doorway and J'ohn was at his side, looking around curiously. Diana was closest to Batman, and as he very slowly turned -making sure he completely flattened his expression- she caught sight of him and practically choked.

'I told you I needed to call someone before we left for Main North,' Batman said in an absolutely deadpanned voice. Bruce refused to flinch as she locked eyes with him and then Robin. An enormous smile spread over her face. The weight on Bruce's back shifted, and he had the feeling that Dick waved. 'Diana, this is Robin. Robin, this is-'

'Diana?' Dick suggested innocently, holding out a hand. Diana's smile grew as she shook it, obviously finding it very funny that she was shaking his hand while he was piggybacking Batman. 'So, do I call you "Diana", "Wonder Woman", or "Princess"?' Robin added. There **must** have been an absolutely evil grin on Dick's face. Bruce face-palmed, _I'll get you for this… _

'Diana is fine, little one,' she said, giving Bruce a mischievous look.

'Little?' Robin just about squawked. He sounded indignant, but there was a joking undertone. _Serves you right for that last comment,_ Bruce thought wickedly. 'I'm almost-'

'**Finally**!' Flash exclaimed, whirling around so he could see everything. His gaze flicked to Batman and a startled expression exploded onto his face. There was a second of silence, and then he burst out laughing. _I guess that's a "no" to maintaining my dignity, _Bruce thought, and glared at Flash.'Hey, Mini-Bat,' he choked out, and GL elbowed him.

'Hey,' Robin said, and Bruce just **knew** he was grinning.

'Is this Robin?' GL asked. Batman gave him a look.

'Of course not, Batman's just letting some random kid sit on him,' Dick said sarcastically, before Bruce could reply. The main difference between Bruce and Dick's sarcasm was that Dick smirked after he used it. He knew Robin must have, because John gave him an almost startled look before he chuckled.

'Sorry,' GL said, and Bruce felt Robin shrug. 'I'm Green Lantern, but you can call me John.'

'Shayera Hol,' the hawkgirl said, using her mace to wave.

'And I am J'ohn J'onzz,' Martian Manhunter said. 'Did you see who stopped these men?' J'ohn asked, and Batman realised he and Superman had moved.

'Not unless he passed a mirror,' Batman said and Robin snickered.

'You mean he-? All of them?' Shayera asked. Bruce hadn't had the time to count them all, but there were a fair few stacked up against the wall. Flash laughed something about toast and GL smiled.

'Yeah,' Robin said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'Did you get the guys that came in before?' Robin asked suddenly. 'I'm not sure if they're down on not.'

'We need to work on your detective skills,' said Batman, rolling his eyes. 'Robin, we were the ones who came in.'

The boy was silent for a second, and then he started laughing. 'Who-who'd I hit with the keyboard?' Dick gasped out.

'That would be me,' Superman said, and Bruce hid the proud smile that crept across his face. Diana however, gave him a wicked smile to show she had.

'Didn't you learn from last time?' Robin asked, laughing.

'Apparently not,' The Boyscout said, smiling kindly. Bruce noticed Flash running a hand over his forehead absently, like he could still feel a burn.

'You'd better hope he doesn't get his hands on kryptonite,' Flash said grinning, 'or you could be in some serious trouble, Supes.' The others laughed, and Bruce found he had to agree. Robin could do them all some serious damage if he needed to (Bruce had taught him, after all). While he didn't let Richard take on anything that wasn't normal crime, Bruce had taught him to handle Gotham villains and meta-humans. 'So- who's in the mood for twenty-questions?' Batman's head snapped around, but Barry Allen either ignored it or didn't even notice. 'I'll start! How old are you? Favourite colour? What's your favourite animal? Why is yournameRobinandisBatsgoingtokillmeforaskingyouthi s?'

'Yes,' said Bruce flatly. He heard Shayera murmur something about "motor-mouth", and earned a smile or two from the others.

'Wow,' Dick said, 'he was really holding back last time. Er… Okay, my favourite colour is red, I'm not telling you my age, elephants are awesome, "Robin" goes well with "Batman", and he won't kill you, but maiming is a definite possibility.'

Batman felt a little twinge of sadness when Flash questioned the name choice. He knew Dick was lying- it had been a nickname of his back at the circus. For that, he glowered a little harder at Flash, who shrunk a little, but not too much.

'You mean "Robin" isn't your real name?' GL questioned, frowning.

Robin laughed. 'Do you think "Batman" is his?' he asked, playing with one of the ears on Bruce's cowl. Shayera was doing a poor job of hiding her smirk.

'He makes it sound like he has a secret identity,' Superman said, narrowed eyes fixing on Bruce's masked ones.

'Why not?' Richard asked. 'If someone found out who I am, they'd find out who Batman is too.'

'You said you fought off all these men, right?' Superman said. 'That's pretty impressive for someone without experience.' He didn't look at Batman- he looked straight at Robin. Bruce knew what Superman was doing the second his tone changed and he glared at him, **hard**. He was using Clark Kent's questioning skills or Robin- using all the right words to get a reaction.

'I've got plenty of experience,' Robin snapped back, sounding a little offended. Kent had been smart to use condescension- Batman **did not tolerate** being talked down to, and neither would Robin.

'You sound like a reporter,' Batman said softly, his tone sharp. Superman's eyes widened as his words sunk in, and he swallowed, looking uncomfortable. _He's wondering if I know, _Bruce thought smugly, _or if it was just an expression. _He hoped Robin didn't smirk, because if he did it would confirm it.

'Supes,' Flash said, and Bruce was glad to see he looked disapproving at the man's tone, 'Robin's decked you twice this month, I think he can handle himself fine.'

'I can make it three times,' Robin threatened cheerfully. 'There's a fire extinguisher over there.'

'Hera, help us,' Diana said softly.

'Besides,' Flash continued, 'it's not like he's fighting the Joker or anything.'

That shook Superman out of his daze. 'How do we know that?' he asked, looking around at the other heroes.

_'I would never put him in danger like that!'_ Bruce snarled. Superman took a step back.

There was a sigh very close to his ear, and the Richard shifted ever so slightly. 'How about I settle this?' he asked softly, and Batman frowned. In the time it took Bruce to wonder what he meant, Robin had launched himself over Bruce's head. He landed on Superman's shoulders, at just the right angle and with just enough force to knock him off of his feet.

Superman hit the floor with a bang, and Dick landed a few feet away, having flipped off before he could go down with him. Flash and Shayera snickered while Diana and GL hid smiles.

'Perhaps the boy is owed recognition for his skills, Superman,' J'ohn said, looking at Robin almost fondly (Bruce knew he was).

'Thanks,' Robin beamed, before turning back to the stunned looking Superman and offering a hand. 'Like Flash said, I can handle myself.' Bruce watched his ward help Superman up. _He should be thankful Robin doesn't like to hold grudges,_ Batman thought.

'I'm starting to believe you,' Superman said honestly, still looking stunned. Bruce gave Superman a look that promised death if he tried any more tricks on Robin.


End file.
